AWL I preview at 74 kg: Richie Lewis (Team Dake) vs. Tommy Gantt (Team Taylor)
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
The Richie Lewis vs. Tommy Gantt battle at 74 kg in AWL I is one of the more intriguing matchups, because both young rising stars don’t have a huge body of work on the international freestyle scene. Neither does either wrestler have a lengthy NCAA resume to compare with many of the others on display in Cedar Rapids.
What both athletes have is a tremendous skill set, capable of lighting up a scoreboard. If these guys open up the offense, we might see some great action.
Clearly, Lewis has the biggest international achievement of the two wrestlers, a gold medal at the inaugural U23 World Championships in Poland in 2017. Lewis shocked the world, and many back home in the United States, as he won five straight matches on the way to the 70 kg U23 World title. In those five matches, Lewis outscored his opponents 45-11. While scoring points in bunches in the preliminaries, he showed he could also win a close match with his 3-1 victory of Kumar Vinod of India in the finals.
Going into the fall of 2017, Lewis was entering his senior season at Rutgers, a tough-nosed NCAA qualifier who was considered a top All-American hopeful. He was a two-time NJCAA All-American for Iowa Central, made the 2016 NCAA Tournament, and missed the 2017 NCAA season due to injury. A three-time New Jersey state placer in high school, he represented the kind of wrestler that made New Jersey proud but had not yet broken through.
The expectations for Lewis increased dramatically at the 2017 U23 World Team Trials in Rochester, Minn. in October 2017, where he put together a sizzling performance to make the team. He defeated talented Tyler Berger in two straight bouts in the finals series. He had wins over well-known stars Lavion Mayes and Anthony Collica to get to the finals. He was aggressive, showed a crisp offense, and had the kind of edge that champions display.
After coming back from U23 Worlds, Lewis completed his college career, reaching the round of 16 at the 2018 NCAAs, losing to Chance Marsteller of Lock Haven in the blood round. But, rather than go right into a career in Mixed Martial Arts, which remains a goal for Lewis, he now has Olympic dreams based upon his high-level freestyle success.
Clearly, Gantt has much more freestyle experience than Lewis. An NCAA All-American for NC State, Gantt competed in freestyle regularly during college. While still a college undergrad in 2014, he put together a nice run to place sixth at the U.S. Senior Open at 74 kg. He also was a three-time medalist at the University Nationals and placed second in the UWW Junior Nationals. After his college career ended, Gantt jumped right into the Senior freestyle scene with the Wolfpack RTC. He added another U.S. Open placement in 2017.
He showed off some of his skills and toughness in winning a gold medal at the 2018 Bill Farrell Memorial in New York City, where he scored his first international win. In the quarters, he beat Colombia World Team member (and EIWA champ at BU) Nestor Taffur, then beat World silver medalist (and NCAA champion at Michigan State) Franklin Gomez of Puerto Rico in the semifinals. His 11-0 technical fall over veteran freestyler Dan Vallimont in the finals was the kind of offensive display which people notice. Gantt has also been taking foreign tours, including bronze at the 2017 Miner’s Glory International in Russia.
Neither wrestler has made a U.S. Freestyle National Team, nor has victories over top-ranked international opponents, but both are doing what is necessary to achieve those things in 2019 and 2020. It would not be surprising to see both of these guys fighting for high medals at the U.S. Open and challenging for Final X this spring. What this battle in Cedar Rapids should show is which of these emerging talents might be ready to start pushing 74 kg stars like Jordan Burroughs and Isaiah Martinez as early as this upcoming season.
Tickets for AWL I: THE BEGINNING can be purchased at www.americanwrestling.org
The event will be broadcast live by TrackWrestling
TEAM DAKE – 74 kg
Richie Lewis, Toms River, N.J. (Lehigh Valley AC)
College: Rutgers, Iowa Central CC
High School: Toms River, N.J. (Toms River East)
Born: July 4, 1994
• 2017 U23 World champion
• 2017 U23 World Team Trials champion
• Two-time NCAA qualifier for Rutgers
• Two-time NJCAA All-American for Iowa Central CC
• Three-time New Jersey state placewinner (3-5-7)
TEAM TAYLOR – 74 kg
Tommy Gantt, Raleigh, N.C. (Titan Mercury WC/Wolfpack RTC)
College: NC State
High School: Cahokia, Ill.
Born: January 9, 1993
• 2018 Bill Farrell Memorial International champion
• Third in 2017 Miner’s Fame International (Russia)
• Sixth in 2014 U.S. Open
• Seventh in 2017 U.S. Open
• Third in 2015 and 2016 University Nationals
• Fourth in 2013 University Nationals
• Second in 2013 UWW Junior Nationals
• Eighth in 2016 NCAA Championships for NC State
• Two-time Illinois state placewinner (2-3)
What both athletes have is a tremendous skill set, capable of lighting up a scoreboard. If these guys open up the offense, we might see some great action.
Clearly, Lewis has the biggest international achievement of the two wrestlers, a gold medal at the inaugural U23 World Championships in Poland in 2017. Lewis shocked the world, and many back home in the United States, as he won five straight matches on the way to the 70 kg U23 World title. In those five matches, Lewis outscored his opponents 45-11. While scoring points in bunches in the preliminaries, he showed he could also win a close match with his 3-1 victory of Kumar Vinod of India in the finals.
Going into the fall of 2017, Lewis was entering his senior season at Rutgers, a tough-nosed NCAA qualifier who was considered a top All-American hopeful. He was a two-time NJCAA All-American for Iowa Central, made the 2016 NCAA Tournament, and missed the 2017 NCAA season due to injury. A three-time New Jersey state placer in high school, he represented the kind of wrestler that made New Jersey proud but had not yet broken through.
The expectations for Lewis increased dramatically at the 2017 U23 World Team Trials in Rochester, Minn. in October 2017, where he put together a sizzling performance to make the team. He defeated talented Tyler Berger in two straight bouts in the finals series. He had wins over well-known stars Lavion Mayes and Anthony Collica to get to the finals. He was aggressive, showed a crisp offense, and had the kind of edge that champions display.
After coming back from U23 Worlds, Lewis completed his college career, reaching the round of 16 at the 2018 NCAAs, losing to Chance Marsteller of Lock Haven in the blood round. But, rather than go right into a career in Mixed Martial Arts, which remains a goal for Lewis, he now has Olympic dreams based upon his high-level freestyle success.
Clearly, Gantt has much more freestyle experience than Lewis. An NCAA All-American for NC State, Gantt competed in freestyle regularly during college. While still a college undergrad in 2014, he put together a nice run to place sixth at the U.S. Senior Open at 74 kg. He also was a three-time medalist at the University Nationals and placed second in the UWW Junior Nationals. After his college career ended, Gantt jumped right into the Senior freestyle scene with the Wolfpack RTC. He added another U.S. Open placement in 2017.
He showed off some of his skills and toughness in winning a gold medal at the 2018 Bill Farrell Memorial in New York City, where he scored his first international win. In the quarters, he beat Colombia World Team member (and EIWA champ at BU) Nestor Taffur, then beat World silver medalist (and NCAA champion at Michigan State) Franklin Gomez of Puerto Rico in the semifinals. His 11-0 technical fall over veteran freestyler Dan Vallimont in the finals was the kind of offensive display which people notice. Gantt has also been taking foreign tours, including bronze at the 2017 Miner’s Glory International in Russia.
Neither wrestler has made a U.S. Freestyle National Team, nor has victories over top-ranked international opponents, but both are doing what is necessary to achieve those things in 2019 and 2020. It would not be surprising to see both of these guys fighting for high medals at the U.S. Open and challenging for Final X this spring. What this battle in Cedar Rapids should show is which of these emerging talents might be ready to start pushing 74 kg stars like Jordan Burroughs and Isaiah Martinez as early as this upcoming season.
Tickets for AWL I: THE BEGINNING can be purchased at www.americanwrestling.org
The event will be broadcast live by TrackWrestling
TEAM DAKE – 74 kg
Richie Lewis, Toms River, N.J. (Lehigh Valley AC)
College: Rutgers, Iowa Central CC
High School: Toms River, N.J. (Toms River East)
Born: July 4, 1994
• 2017 U23 World champion
• 2017 U23 World Team Trials champion
• Two-time NCAA qualifier for Rutgers
• Two-time NJCAA All-American for Iowa Central CC
• Three-time New Jersey state placewinner (3-5-7)
TEAM TAYLOR – 74 kg
Tommy Gantt, Raleigh, N.C. (Titan Mercury WC/Wolfpack RTC)
College: NC State
High School: Cahokia, Ill.
Born: January 9, 1993
• 2018 Bill Farrell Memorial International champion
• Third in 2017 Miner’s Fame International (Russia)
• Sixth in 2014 U.S. Open
• Seventh in 2017 U.S. Open
• Third in 2015 and 2016 University Nationals
• Fourth in 2013 University Nationals
• Second in 2013 UWW Junior Nationals
• Eighth in 2016 NCAA Championships for NC State
• Two-time Illinois state placewinner (2-3)
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